September 21, 2007 - Bush Reaffirms S-CHIP Veto - President Bush said at a press conference yesterday (9/20/2007)that he will veto the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) bill that Democrats in Congress hope to pass that includes tobacco tax increases because he sees the bill as “an incremental step toward the goal of government-run health care.” He said that he supports reauthorizing the program, and that his 2008 budget proposed to increase S-CHIP funding by $5 billion over five years, a 20% increase over current funding levels. Democrats reportedly want to pay for the program by raising the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack, to $1 per pack from the current 39 cents per pack. Answering a reporter’s question, “If there is a tax increase on cigarettes to fund the S-CHIP program, is that a tax increase you oppose?”, the President said, “We don't need to raise taxes.” He added, “The legislation would raise taxes on working people.” Democrats said they have a veto-proof majority in the Senate and that it will pass in the House with some support from moderate Republicans, but concede they may not have a veto-proof margin, reported CNN. (CSP Daily News) See related stories:September 19, 2007July 28, 2007July 18, 2007 and July 9, 2007. We have to remember that a vast majority of smokers do not want their children to share their addiction.

September 18, 2007 - One Free Tin of Any Camel SNUS - these coupons are now being passed out to patrons at c-stores in the various cities where Camel SNUS is being test marketed. R.J. Reynolds must be worried that Marlboro SNUS is coming and they need to establish loyal customers now. Tobacco companies are prodding public health officials to come forward and support claims about how safe smokeless tobacco products like SNUS. Certain public health professionals have played right into their hands and have even been outspoken on how safe smokeless tobacco is compared to tobacco smoking. The populations these public health officials are targeting are inveterate (hard-nosed, long established, deep-rooted) cigarette smokers that refuse to consider trying to quit smoking tobacco. For example, Dr. Brad Rodu and William T. Godshall, M.P.H. paper in the December 2006 issue of the Harm Reduction Journal entitled, "Tobacco Harm Reduction: An Alternate Cessation Strategy for Inveterate Smokers," or Dr. Carol Gartner and colleagues paper in the June 16, 2007 issue of The Lancet concluded that SNUS could produce a net health benefit in inveterate smokers. We have no problem trying to convince inveterate smokers to use SNUS. But it would be impossible to limit distribution of smokeless tobacco products to these inveterate tobacco smokers. Tobacco companies have an entirely different goal in mind – they are already targeting a much younger crowd of young adults and any kids they can entice along the way - witness the tagline for Camel SNUS: "Pleasure for wherever." Another example: Cathryn Cushing, a specialist with the Oregon's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, "I see it as a young adult marketing strategy, and we have a lot of hip young adults in this city," Cushing said. And "if it appeals to a 22-year-old, I think you can assume it will appeal to a 16-year-old. Because what do 16-year-olds want to be? Twenty-two" (The Oregonian, 1/7/2007) Or a comment from Mitch Zeller, health policy consultant who was director of the Office of Tobacco Programs at the FDA during the Clinton Administration, said the web site for Camel Snus "seems aimed at young adult males to get them to start using products." The site says Reynolds found Snus in Sweden, "home of the world's best meatballs, massage and blondes." In Sweden (2004), where SNUS originated, it has been found that the use of snuff decreases with age and was the highest in the age group 18-29 years. Click on images to enlarge.. (TobaccoWatch.org)

September 17, 2007 - Swedish government budget proposal includes another tax on SNUS.. - Swedish Match closed down 4.94 pct at 130, on the back of news of a second round of moist snuff tax hikes, due to be announced in the government's Autumn budget. Mikael Holm, Swedish Match analyst at Swedbank, said the government's tax hikes are clearly part of a health-driven campaign and as such can be expected to continue. 'They hiked taxes on snus by 100 pct in last year's Autumn budget and now by another 50 pct this year. It's clear that the government intends to be very aggressive in order to bring consumption down,' Mikael Holm, Swedish Match analyst at Swedbank said, 'So we have to ask 'what will happen next year? (Stockholm shares close lower, but OMX up on M&A speculation - UPDATE, cnnmoney.com) STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Swedish Government budget proposal, to be presented on September 20, 2007, is expected to include a new tax increase on tobacco products including snus, which is proposed to be SEK 2,70 for 24 g (pouch) and SEK 5,63 for 50 g (loose). The numbers include VAT and the increase is expected to be effective as of January 1, 2008. In the light of the recent tax increase in January 2007, where the tax increased by SEK 3,69 for 24 g and SEK 7,69 for 50 g snus, including VAT, the new tax proposal was unexpected. (Yahoo Finance) As Dr. Gunilla Bolinder, director of education at Stockholm's Karolinska University Hospital points out, "To sing the praises of SNUS is a deathblow to 20 years of hard tobacco preventive work. SNUS only saves the life of the tobacco industry." (SNUS gets the thumbs-down NEWS-24 1/31/2007)